Arts & Entertainment

When aliens invaded New York back in 2012, Captain America led the Avengers into battle to save the world.

With the threat eliminated, now Captain America must submerge himself into the dangerous world of espionage in present day while taking on a new powerful threat: the Winter Soldier.

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier” is the sequel to 2011’s “Captain America” movie and helps further expand the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Chris Evans returns as Captain America, the super solider who was frozen in ice since World War II, to not only battle another mysterious super soldier known as the Winter Soldier, but to also differentiate friend from foe within the law-enforcement and espionage agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D.

While there is no lack of stunningly choreographed fights, car chases and shootouts, the storyline is really more of a spy-thriller than it is a typical superhero movie.

With the preeminent launch of three new Helicarriers (flying aircraft carriers of the Marvel Universe) whose sole mission is to preemptively eliminate enemy targets, spymaster Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) becomes suspicious of his own organization when he doesn’t have access to secret files relating to the project known as Project Insight.

One of the themes throughout the film involves sacrificing privacy for security, much like the argument we as a society are currently having regarding the NSA, but it’s something Fury sees as a necessity but Captain America strongly disagrees with.

Fury learns he was wading into treacherous waters after surviving a well-planned attempt on his life out in public, forcing him to go into hiding. He makes his way into Captain America’s apartment to inform him that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised, only to be silenced soon after by the Winter Soldier, a super soldier with a dangerous metal arm.

It’s then up to Captain America and the Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) to investigate the hidden menace that has successfully infiltrated and taken over S.H.I.E.L.D. while simultaneously remaining on the run and off the grid.

“The Winter Soldier” successfully ties-in with events from “The Avengers” and “Captain America: The First Avenger” movies while also remaining easy to follow to new viewers who aren’t up to date with every Marvel movie.

The film also supplies several Easter eggs for diehard comic book fans, hinting at possible future Marvel movies as well as things to come in the eventual “Avengers” sequel due out next summer.

While the identity of the Winter Soldier is nothing new to regular Marvel comic book readers, the reveal on screen was definitely shocking to many, for Captain America is very familiar with who’s behind the mask.

Black Widow isn’t the only ally Captain America has in his arsenal: Sam Wison (Anthony Mackie), aka the Falcon, makes his big screen debut with metal wings and guns a-blazing.

The Falcon has been around in comics since 1969, making his first appearance in “Captain America” No. 117. There weren’t many African-American superheroes back then, making Falcon one of the first mainstream African-American superheroes in comics.

A plethora of other minor Marvel characters make an appearance in the film, making “The Winter Soldier” jam-packed with action, suspense and stunning visuals throughout.

Although Captain America will return in “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” next summer, keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy” in August to continue with the Marvel Cinematic Universe expansion goodness.